Dicarboxylate-Bridged Ruthenium Complexes as Building Blocks for Molecular Nanostructures

Ruthenium complexes with bridging dicarboxylate ligands
were combined
with 1,2-di-4-pyridylethylene (dpe), 2,4,6-tri-4-pyridyltriazine (4-tpt),
or 2,4,6-tri-3-pyridyltriazine (3-tpt) to give a tetranuclear rectangle
or hexanuclear coordination cages. The cages display a trigonal-prismatic
geometry, as evidenced by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The
4-tpt-based cages are able to encapsulate polyaromatic molecules such
as pyrene, triphenylene, or coronene, whereas the 3-tpt-based cages
were found to be incompetent hosts for these guests.